Jakarta (ANTARA) – Some US$1.57 billion had been amassed for the Pandemic Fund, one of the concrete deliverables of the 2022 G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia G20 Sherpa’s Co-Sous and Multilateral Economic Cooperation Assistant Deputy of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, Ferry Ardiyanto, stated.”To this day, US$1.57 billion had been gathered for the Pandemic Fund that came from 25 contributors from 22 countries and three philanthropic institutions,” he noted through an official statement issued on Monday. The Pandemic Fund is a transformation from the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response that is a collaborative action between donor countries, partners, recipients, and philanthropists. The Pandemic Fund is managed by the World Bank and expert staff from the World Health Organization (WHO). The fund exists to improve prevention, readiness, and response actions toward pandemics in the future, especially in vulnerable countries. Through the Pandemic Fund, Indonesia has also committed to contributing US$50 million that will be paid within the next five years, and it is currently in the first stage of the payment process in 2023. The establishment of the Pandemic Fund can strengthen the global health architecture, as the fund can be accessed by poor and developing countries, including Indonesia. To access the Pandemic Fund, countries in need can submit a fund usage proposal that utilizes the donation instrument. Moreover, in mid-May of 2023, Indonesia had submitted the Strengthening the Capacity of Regional Health Surveillance in Indonesia and Southeast Asia (SCORES) One Health Proposal, Ardiyanto stated. This aims to strengthen the monitoring of diseases, early warning, laboratory system, and health workers’ capacity, he noted during the guest lecture event at the University of Diponegoro (Undip). He expects that the guest lecture event held at Undip can serve as a platform for the government to share the economic diplomacy achievement clocked in the G20 Forum. It was also expected to be a platform for academicians to deliver various inputs.

Source: Antara News Agency